Otara Gunewardene
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Otara Gunewardene
Otara Gunewardene ( Sinhala: ඔටාරා ගුණවර්ධන) is a Sri Lankan entrepreneur, animal welfare advocate, conservationist and philanthropist. She is the founder of ODEL, Embark and Otara Foundation. Early life and education Otara Del Gunawardene was born on 30 August 1964 in Colombo, Sri Lanka the third child to Norman and Delysia Gunewardene. Her father was a former Chairman of Aitken Spence and her mother, Delysia, established the Chitra Lane School for differently-abled children. Gunawardene attended C. M. S. Ladies College in Colombo, where she excelled in athletics and swimming, representing the country. Gunawardene graduated from Bowling Green State University, Ohio with a degree in biology. Whilst on holiday back home, she did some fashion modelling – shooting for high-profile brands and international apparel catalogues right after graduating from University. Career In 1989 Gunawardene began selling factory surplus garments and apparel from her ...
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Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo metropolitan area has a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 in the Municipality. It is the financial centre of the island and a tourist destination. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to the Greater Colombo area which includes Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, the legislative capital of Sri Lanka, and Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. Colombo is often referred to as the capital since Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is itself within the urban/suburban area of Colombo. It is also the administrative capital of the Western Province and the district capital of Colombo District. Colombo is a busy and vibrant city with a mixture of modern life, colonial buildings and monuments. Due to its large harbour and its strategic position along th ...
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Philanthropy
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material gain; and with government endeavors, which are public initiatives for public good, notably focusing on provision of public services. A person who practices philanthropy is a List of philanthropists, philanthropist. Etymology The word ''philanthropy'' comes , from ''phil''- "love, fond of" and ''anthrōpos'' "humankind, mankind". In the second century AD, Plutarch used the Greek concept of ''philanthrôpía'' to describe superior human beings. During the Middle Ages, ''philanthrôpía'' was superseded in Europe by the Christian theology, Christian cardinal virtue, virtue of ''charity'' (Latin: ''caritas''); selfless love, valued for salvation and escape from purgatory. Thomas Aquinas held that "the habit of charity ...
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Kandy City Centre
Kandy City Centre is a ten-storey commercial and retail complex which is located in Kandy, Sri Lanka near the Temple of Tooth Relic. Construction of the centre was started in 1993 and opened in 2008. The complex was the vision of Thusitha Wijayasena and undertaken by his company, Property Finance and Investments Kandy (Pvt) Ltd. Construction The site upon which this complex was built was owned by Walker Sons and Company and was occupied by a number of buildings including a cinema and other stores before the site was cleared in 1993. The construction of the centre was abandoned in 1998 due to several reasons and recommenced four years later in 2003. It was completed in 2005 but not formally opened until December 2008. The building was designed by AMC Architects of Singapore, in collaboration with local architecture firm, ADV Consultants and was constructed by Maga Engineering. This building was one of the first buildings in Sri Lanka to have an underground floor. This is also ...
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Galle
Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the capital of Galle District. Galle was known as ''Gimhathiththa'' before the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century, when it was the main port on the island. Ibn Batuta, a Moroccan Berber Muslim traveller in the 14th century, referred to it as ''Qali''. Galle reached the height of its development in the 18th century, during the Dutch colonial period. Galle is the best example of a fortified city built by the Portuguese in South and Southeast Asia, showing the interaction between Portuguese architectural styles and native traditions. The city was extensively fortified by the Dutch during the 17th century from 1649 onwards. The Galle fort is a world heritage site and is the largest remaining fortres ...
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Softlogic Holdings
Softlogic Holdings PLC is a diversified conglomerate in Sri Lanka engaged in ICT, healthcare, retail, financial services, automobiles and leisure. History Softlogic began as a software development company in 1991 by Ashok Pathirage and twelve employees. The company later successfully obtained the Dell authorised distributorship in Sri Lanka. Softlogic ventured into the telecommunications sector with a partnership with Dialog Axiata offering corporate and individual Dialog GSM packages. Pathirage who realised the potential of mobile communications acquired the national dealership of Nokia in the year 2000. Softlogic went through a period of aggressive growth between 2006 and 2009 where they entered the retail sector with the acquisition of Uni Walkers (Pvt) Ltd. Softlogic which had begun to diversify entering retail and lifestyle sectors opened furniture stores and showrooms islandwide. Softlogic became the authorised dealer for Panasonic, Samsung The Samsung Group (or s ...
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The Sunday Leader
''The Sunday Leader'' was an English-language Sri Lankan weekly newspaper published by Leader Publications (Private) Limited. It was founded in 1994 and is published from Colombo. Its sister newspapers are the '' Iruresa'' ('' Irudina'') and the defunct '' The Morning Leader''. Founded by brothers Lasantha Wickrematunge and Lal Wickrematunge, the newspaper is known for its outspoken and controversial news coverage. The newspaper and its staff have been attacked and threatened several times and its founding editor Lasantha Wickrematunge was assassinated. History ''The Sunday Leader'' was founded in 1994 by brothers Lasantha Wickrematunge and Lal Wickrematunge with the first edition being published on 19 June 1994. The newspaper was associated with silent partner and leading politician and presidential candidate Gamini Dissanayake who was assassinated on 24 October 1994. ''The Sunday Leader'' was shut down by the Sri Lankan government on 22 May 2000 using the recently passed cens ...
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The Economic Times
''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. It is owned by The Times Group. ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961. As of 2012, it is the world's second-most widely read English-language business newspaper, after ''The Wall Street Journal'', with a readership of over 800,000. It is published simultaneously from 14 cities: Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Chandigarh, Pune, Indore, and Bhopal. Its main content is based on the Indian economy, international finance, share prices, prices of commodities as well as other matters related to finance. This newspaper is published by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. The founding editor of the paper when it was launched in 1961 was P. S. Hariharan. The current editor of ''The Economic Times'' is Bodhisattva Ganguli. ''The Economic Times'' is sold in all major cities in India. Other ventures In June 2009, The Economic Times launched a ...
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The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)
''The Sunday Times'' is a weekly Sri Lankan broadsheet initially published by the now defunct Times Group, until 1991, when it was taken over by Wijeya Newspapers. The paper features articles of journalists such as defence columnist Iqbal Athas and Ameen Izzadeen. The daily counterpart of the Sri Lankan ''Sunday Times'' is the ''Daily Mirror''. History The first ''Times'' newspaper, ''Ceylon Times'' was established in 1846. The Times of Ceylon Ltd, which existed for 131 years, was taken over by the Sri Lankan government in 1977. Ranjith Wijewardena, the son of D. R. Wijewardena, and the chairman of Wijeya Newspapers Ltd, purchased the company which was under liquidation, in 1986. However, the newspaper ''The Sunday Times'' came into being in 1991. See also *List of newspapers in Sri Lanka The List of newspapers in Sri Lanka lists every daily and non-daily news publication currently operating in Sri Lanka. The list includes information on whether it is distributed daily or non- ...
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Sunday Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. History Origins The first issue, published on 4 December 1791 by W.S. Bourne, was the world's first Sunday newspaper. Believing that the paper would be a means of wealth, Bourne instead soon found himself facing debts of nearly £1,600. Though early editions purported editorial independence, Bourne attempted to cut his losses and sell the title to the government. When this failed, Bourne's brother (a wealthy businessman) made an offer to the government, which also refused to buy the paper but agreed to subsidise it in return for influence over its editorial content. As a result, the paper soon took a strong line against radicals such as Thomas Paine, Francis Burdett and Joseph Priestley. 19th century In 180 ...
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The Island (Sri Lanka)
''The Island'' is a daily English-language newspaper in Sri Lanka. It is published by Upali Newspapers. A sister newspaper of ''Divaina'', ''The Island'' was established in 1981. Its Sunday edition, ''Sunday Island'', commenced publishing in 1991. The daily newspaper currently has a circulation of 70,000 and its Sunday edition, 103,000 per issue. Upali Wijewardene was its founder. Its political leaning is pro- Sri Lanka Freedom Party. See also *List of newspapers in Sri Lanka The List of newspapers in Sri Lanka lists every daily and non-daily news publication currently operating in Sri Lanka. The list includes information on whether it is distributed daily or non-daily, and who publishes it. For those newspapers that ar ... References External links * Daily newspapers published in Sri Lanka English-language newspapers published in Sri Lanka Publications established in 1981 Upali Newspapers {{SriLanka-newspaper-stub ...
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The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the second most circulated English-language newspaper in India, after '' The Times of India''. , ''The Hindu'' is published from 21 locations across 11 states of India. ''The Hindu'' has been a family-owned newspaper since 1905, when it was purchased by S. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar from the original founders. It is now jointly owned by Iyengar's descendants, referred to as the "Kasturi family", who serve as the directors of the holding company. The current chairperson of the group is Malini Parthasarathy, a great-granddaughter of Iyengar. Except for a period of about two years, when S. Varadarajan held the editorship of the newspaper, the editorial positions of the paper were always held by members of the family or held under their direction. Histo ...
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Daily News (Sri Lanka)
The ''Daily News'' is an English-language newspaper in Sri Lanka. It is now published by the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (Lake House), a government-owned corporation. The newspaper commenced publishing on 3 January 1918. D. R. Wijewardena was its founder. The present-day newspaper is written as a broadsheet, with photographs printed both in color and black and white. Weekday printings include the main section, containing news on national affairs, international affairs, business, political analysis, sports, editorials and opinions. Every Thursday issue a free supplement in a tabloid paper called "Wisdom". In addition, the ''Daily News'' also provides ''The Sri Lanka Gazette'' as a supplement on every Friday. The current editor-in-chief of the daily news is Lalith Allahakkoon. Since its founding, the ''Daily News'' has been housed and printed in the historic, colonial-era Lakehouse Building, adjacent to Beira Lake, in the Fort district of Colombo. During the 2018 ...
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